Jamie McKenzie is the Editor of From Now On - The Educational Technology Journal, a Web-based "ZINE" published online since 1991. In this journal, he has argued for relevant technology use for students. Coining the term, “powerpointlessness,” McKenzie advocates the use of Slam Dunk Lessons to generate high level thinking skills for students.

The Slam Dunk lesson hinges on developing an essential question that leads students to a deep understanding of the content in order to move beyond recall and comprehension and into more rigorous thinking and learning. Students use online resources and embedded scaffolds to gain knowledge and understanding of content instrumental in producing a product that requires critical thinking and creativity. Slam Dunk lessons are based on standards and should take only 30-45 minutes for students to complete, delivering a lot of bang for your class time buck!
Take a look at the following pages to guide you through understanding and creating your own Slam Dunk lessons.

Goals for Training Session:

1. Explore literature explaining and examples of Slam Dunk Lessons
2. Identify standards, photos, and content appropriate for Slam Dunk Lessons
3. Create: 1 Six Step Slam Dunk Lesson

Saving and Sharing your Slam Dunk Lessons:

1. Log on to www2.cmcss.net server
2. Navigate to your own public folder
3. Create a new folder titled "Slam Dunk Lessons_LastName" inside public but outside of your drop box
4. When lessons are completed, place them into the Slam Dunk Lessons folder you created AND upload to the ICT Moodle Course.

Examples

for you to work through as if you were a student. Categorized by grade level

• Slam Dunk Lessons from Canyon Independent School District
• Slam Dunk Lessons created by CMCSS Consulting Teachers, Academic Coaches, and other teachers who chose to share.

Path: www2.cmcss.net--->Sharing--->Technology--->Slam Dunk Lessons

Background and Support

Information for reference as you complete Slam Dunk Lessons

1. Making Good Lessons Quickly

• Advance through the module. Download Slam Dunk template from slide 9.

2. Five Kinds of Slam Dunk Digital Lessons

• Take time to view examples Slam Dunk lessons of each type:
  • Rich Site / Essential Question
  • Dramatic Image
  • The Database
  • The Provocative Article, Poem or Text Passage
  • The Persuasive Image
• Discussion of Nothing But Net: Creating Slam Dunk Lesson Plans
  • Benefits of an Effective Slam Dunk Lesson
  • Two types of Slam Dunk Lessons
  • Step by Step Process for Creating Slam Dunk Lessons

3. As we work towards creating our lessons we must keep in mind:

• Mining the Standards

  • Tennessee Curriculum Standards
  • CMCSS Curriculum Guide
  • Edusoft- to examine previous Benchmark results in order to identify standards on which students have difficulty achieving proficiency Teacher log in required

• Higher Level Thinking

  • Bloom's Taxonomy

• Finding Quality Content

  • Use this time to find great resources (specific to your grade level and/or subject) that address the standards upon which you will base your Slam Dunk Lesson.
  • Landmarks for Schools - links to teaching and learning resources on the Net and valuable Web tools
  • Images Can Make Powerful Slam Dunk Digital Lessons
    • Copyright Friendly Image Sites (Scroll to the bottom of the page)

• The Essential Question

4. Writing Six Step Slam Dunk Lesson and Saving to Server
5. Questions and Feedback